Quick History

Orem was once called the Provo Bench. Provo and Orem’s early history are intertwined. Attempts were made to settle Orem in the 1850’s but lack of water slowed down it’s growth. [1] After a series of canals were made, the area became populated with many fertile fruit orchards and farmlands giving the Provo Bench the early reputation as the “Garden City Of Utah”. Homesteads settled along the territorial highway which is now State Street. Instead of the grid system for laying out a city as was popular in Utah, the roads crisscrossed the rural area connecting the farms, homes and orchards. [2]

A railroad line was built through the Provo Bench by Walter C. Orem. To honor him the community was named “Orem” and incorporated on May 5, 1919. With WII came the call for steel and Geneva Steel was there to fill that need.

In 1943, the Utah Farm Labor Association in cooperation with the State of Utah built a llabor camp at a five acre cite. The first occupants of the camp displaced Japanese-Americans from the Topaz Relocation Camp. They were employed in farmers in Orem and Utah County. The fall of 1944 brought in 60 Italian Prisoners of war. They built on the labor camp and worked in the local farms. They were all eventually replaced with 340 German prisoners of war who continued to work for the farmers. At the end of the war, the German POWs were released and the former prisoner-of –war camp became home for Mexican nationals looking for work in the farming community. This camp was dismantled in 1970.

City Hall

Neighboring Communities

Orem boarders Utah lake and Vineyard to the west and the majestic Timpanogos mountains on the northeast. Timpanogos, an Indian name given to the mountain and the entire valley, means many waters. Provo spreads over the valley to the south and the small town of Lindon nestles into the North. [3]

Orem Neighborhoods

References are made in histories to the neighborhood that the person lived in. Provo and Orem's boundary lines can seem confusing. Using the neighborhood can better pinpoint the location of an ancestor.

Obituaries

Provo City Library owns microfilmed copies of the newspaper dating back to 1888 (with some years and issues missing for the first forty years). Check the obituary index for you ancestor, the papers can be found at the Provo City Library. Information on requesting an obituary can be found on this Provo City Library site.